SEO / Google Search Problem

Back when I first opened the site the add a product page contained SEO titles and descriptions. It has now since disappeared from the product page as well as the category section.

Is there a way to get it back? also I know you technically can't add meta tags to the site but when I search the domain phrase or similar, nothing shows up. The site can't get any visibility / web traffic & it's concerning.

Re: SEO / Google Search Problem

Hi again, sorry.

It has been a while since I added any more products to my pointless website - the last time I added a product you could add a meta title, short description and a long description ( not that it made any difference) and after reading your thread and logging on they have indeed removed the option! I cannot believe it.

However, this maybe a way of getting some money back and leaving as it is not the product that was originally sold to us

Re: SEO / Google Search Problem / Meta Tag Description

@Gelloire@ridaz650 Well, Gelloire, I am just as miffed as you are upon discovering all my titles and meta descriptions are gone. Removing the Title Tag and Meta Description fields is absurd. I called cust. svc. about it and was on the phone a long while with them and their SEO specialist. The specialist was dumbfounded also. He had no idea why they had done this. He said they should be there.

The rep also went to her developers and was told that "neither the title tag nor the meta description are used for ranking, so there was no benefit to having them". I did research on my own, and found there is some truth to this regarding the Meta Description, although ranking isn't the only important matter:

The title tag, however, IS necessary and IS used for ranking (SERP) and it seems without one GD expects the search engines to use the title you have given the product instead. You can learn more about this on the bottom of the link above.

The fact is, both the title and meta description DO become important in other ways, especially in the click thru rate. If you have a compelling meta title and description, customers are more likely to click on the product. And the product title IS NO SUBSTITUTE for a meta title and description.

So, I'm with you. We have been shortchanged again and it is not acceptable. My meta descriptions were written specifically to complement the wording in the product description, not duplicate it. So there was information in my meta descriptions that is not found elsewhere. Had we known this was going to be removed, I would have written my entire description differently to include some of these other points which were stated in the meta description. I'm furious and everyone else should be too. Hundreds of hours of work gone in a split second...

Re: SEO / Google Search Problem / Meta Tag Description

I also contacted Godaddy via phone and email about how upset I am regarding the loss of the tag titles and descriptions. I completely agree that it is absolutely asinine that the title tag and meta description fields have been removed. The BS that GoDaddy has given that there is no benefit to having these is just that...BS. It is absolutely necessary AND beneficial that these items should be included with each product so that each product will can be found by Google. In other words, the website that you paid for to help not only sell your product online but also enabled Google to FIND and make visible is now absolutely useless. More importantly, Godaddy has caused you to lose $$$$ by causing your product to become invisible to customers. If they can't find it, they can't buy it. Therefore I believe that Godaddy should compensate all of the victims of their stupidity by refunding all the $$$ spent on this now useless Online Store. I have been a GoDaddy customer for YEARS (like 13) and I believe it is now time to bail..maybe if they see how their bottom line is impacted by their stupidity, they will hire people who make better decisions. I will also be writing online reviews regarding this major irritation. Maybe Godaddy will get the hint and reinstall the titles and descriptions...or maybe they will continue their downward spiral.

Re: SEO / Google Search Problem / Meta Tag Description

I would also add the click thru rate DOES affect ranking, so to say that removing our control of the title and description (snippet), although it's not guaranteed it will be used by the search engine, greatly increases our click-thru rate. So this info from GD is bogus.

Re: SEO / Google Search Problem / Meta Tag Description

I'm discovering more issues with our SEO. I see when we perform a search from the search box, whatever words we use to search become keywords in the url. That seems right. The problem is, if you then click on another unrelated item, it still has the same search keywords in the url. I don't believe that should be the case. Also, because "search" DOES NOT FIND CATEGORY NAMES, if someone types in a category name (as is most likely the case) instead of words in the product title, the result will be none found. Since I have categories that have collection names, such as Victorian Collection (subcategory under jewelry) but "victorian collection" is not in the product title, it says I have ZERO results. I also searched victorian jewelry and it says I have ZERO results, even thought Victorian is a subcategory under Jewelry! No matter how a customer searches, it produces no results.

Re: SEO / Google Search Problem / Meta Tag Description

Ah, gotta love it. Since GD developers took away our meta descriptions (see above), they now have a prominent blogger writing for them that provides a LENGTHY article on why we need meta descriptions and what they do for our click-thru rate. Perhaps the developers need to read this, educate themselves, and RESTORE our meta descriptions!

Re: SEO / Google Search Problem / Meta Tag Description

I am a GoDaddy End User - Just Like YouCheck out my site! | I drink and I know things. Especially about websites and web hosting.* Please note that I offer free advice on this forum. If you would like personalized help, please contact me. Otherwise, please ask your question in the proper forum so the answer can assist EVERYONE in the community and not just you. Thanks! *

Once your issue is resolved,please be sure to come back and click accept for the solution

Re: SEO / Google Search Problem / Meta Tag Description

Hi all,

I do apologize for the lack in SEO functionality around online store products. Our team has been working on adding these features back in and they are slated to be available by end of the year.

In the meantime, you can still get SEO benefits for your website by using GoCentral's SEO tool. It will walk you through finding the right keywords for your site pages, including adding meta title and description tags. As a workaround, I would recommend adding a price list/menu section to your product page that lists your offerings. Then, you can add the necessary keywords and tags to the product page and get down to the specific product categories, as well. I understand that this isn't a perfect solution and again apologize about the delay in re-enabling this valuable feature for you.

Re: SEO / Google Search Problem / Meta Tag Description

@AlisaNThank you for the apology. While it is not a fix, it certainly helps GD's credibility.

I guess I don't see how adding a pricelist of all my hundreds of products will help. You say we can then "add the necessary keywords and tags" to the product page. No we can't. That's the whole point. Is there something I'm missing? Having keywords in the product descriptions is not the same as having a snippet meta description or a meta title when it comes to getting found by search engines or improving the click-thru rate by having a compelling meta description.

Also, the SEO doesn't give you product-level keywords and descriptions, only page-level, right?